A Social Justice Anchored Partnership to Support College Access in Black Communities

• In Event: Created Empowered Educational Spaces for Families and Communities

Abstract

This paper describes conceptual and theoretical contributions to a social justice anchored college preparatory program for Black youth. College going and completion is shown to provide substantial tangible (e.g., lifetime wages) and intangible (e.g., critical consciousness) benefits. Yet, Black youth often are excluded from opportunities to access college. In response to higher education barriers, Justice Scholars Institute (JSI) was created for youth in Pittsburgh’s Black communities. JSI provides college-credit courses and justice-oriented educational programming, including college preparatory workshops, out-of-school time justice-focused youth development opportunities, and equity-focused teacher professional development, and training in justice-focused research. Using a community engaged approach, our work centers critical theories and transformative approaches to understand and intervene on factors that impact Black students' college access opportunities.

Authors

• Esohe R. Osai, University of Pittsburgh

• Shanyce L. Campbell, University of Pittsburgh